Hosiery



4 E. RUCKEL 2,232,560

HOSIERY Filed May 7, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Erwin Fae/{e1 Feb. 18, 1941. EEEEEE EL 2,232,560

Patented Feb.'18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE] nosmar Erwin R'uokel, Richmond Hill, N. Y., assignor to Louis Hirsch Textile Machines, Inc., New York, N, Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationMay 1, 1938, Serial No. 206,512

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in hosiery, particularly in fullfashioned fiat knit hosiery, and in the method of knitting'it. A particular object of the invention is the improvement and simplification of the topping operation preceding the joining of the heel tabs and side sole portions of hosiery-knit on single-unit machines, and of those in which a legger is employed to knit the legs and feet as a unit. I

In knitting a stocking upon a single-unit flat knitting machine the usual procedure is to knit the leg and high heel splices and then to knit the heel tabs; the knitting'of the instep being suspended meanwhile. When the heel tabs are completed the knitting of the foot and sole is in order, but it is customary to first knit a few sole ravelling courses to prevent ravelling of the initial sole courses when the completed stocking blankvv is removed from the knitting machine, and to assist in topping onto the looping machine by which the heels and sole portions are joined.

When performing this topping operation it is essential that every one of the sinker loops of the first course of the sole be topped onto its individual point,,a difllcult operation and one extremely trying to theeye-sight. By this invention this operation is greatly simplified, and the danger of runs developing from dropped sinker loops eliminated.

When a 'legg'er is employed to knit the leg and foot of a stocking as a unit, the knitting of the instep and sole portions of the foot is begun immediately after the leg and high heel splices have been completed. However, since the high heels must be severed later from the sole portions so that the heel tabs and sole portions can be looped together, itis customary to knit a few courses, usually unreinforced, between the reinforced high heels and the reinforced sole (called intermediate or severing courses) to serve as a guide for topping. and cutting. To avoid runs the topping operation must be performed before cutting. The

needle loops or the last course of thehigh heel and the'sinker loops of the first course of the sole portions must bev topped upon the two rows of topping points of a double topping stand. and since the two courses of loops are separated by only the two or three intermediate courses, the topping of the sinker loops is not only a dimcult and slow operation, butis likely to be imperiectly done by even a skilled and careful operator. By this invention the sole portions of the fabric are rendered run-proof even against imperfect topping. v

The forms of the invention selected for d'escription herein are illustrated by the drawings, of which-- I v Figure l is a diagrammatic illustration of a part of the sole and instep portions of' the foot 5 of a stocking assumed to have been knit upon a single unit fiat knitting machine after the completion of the leg and high heels and heel tabs.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the adjacent parts of the leg and foot of a stockmg assumed to have been knit as a unit upon a standard legger;

Figure 3 is an enlarged diagrammaticillustration of a part of the fabric found in the latter of these blanks. 1 i

As illustrated by Figure 1 and as generally described above, the knitting upon a single unit machine of the instep and sole portions i and 2, respectively, of the foot has been preceded by the knitting of sole-ravelling courses 3. The first course of these sole portions is rendered runproof by the inclusion of picoting 4 in the last courses of'the ravelling course sections. Then the knitting of the instep and the sole portions of the foot is begun and carried to completion. When the heel tabs and the first course of the sole portions are topped onto the looping machine, the latter may be topped by simply forcing the first course onto the topping points without making any particular effort to see that all of Y the sinker loops are topped. If some are missed,

no harm can follow, since the preceding courses of run-proofing construction prevent the starting of runs at this edge of the sole portions.

In fact, it is immaterial if some of the loops topped are needle loops and some sinker loops, or

if part of the loops are in one course and part in the next course, provided, that none of them are on the wrong side of the run-proof courses t.

Figure 2-illustrates adjacent portions of the leg and foot fabric of a stocking'blank knit as 'a unit on a standard logger. As will be understood by those skilled in theart, the high heels 5 and the sole portions 6' are temporarily connected by a few intermediate courses 1 usually unreinforced, which serve as a guide for subsequent topping and severing. Whenthe knitting of the foot has been completed, it has been necessary heretofore to top onto adouble topping stand first the needle loops of the last course 8 of the high heels and then the sinker locpsof the first course 9 of the sole portions. Since these'two courses are very close together and are joinedby the intermediate severing courses such topping is an extremely difficult operation.

The fabric is now cut along the intermediate severing courses I and the heel tabs knit onto the ends of the high heels and ravelling courses simultaneously knit on the sole portions, or, if another method is followed, the heel tabs are joined to the sole portions, course by course, as the heel tabs are knit.

To simplify the above-described topping operation a picot III is made in the courses immediately preceding the first course 9 of the sole portions. This will prevent runs starting at this edge of the side sole portions after the fabric is severed along the intermediate courses. Because of this, it is'only necessary to top the needle loops of the last course oi the high heels upon one row of the topping points of the double topping stand,

and then to simply push the first course after the locking courses oi. the sole portions upon the other row of points, making no eflort to top each sinker loop as has been essential heretofore. As in the other case, it is not even important that all of the loops topped should be in the same course. Part may be in one course and part in another, provided all of them are on the right side of the run-proofing courses.

Also, because of the presence of the run-proofing course, a single row topping stand may be used, if desired, the needle loops of the last course of the high heels being topped, the high heels then severed from the sole portions along the intermediate courses and the heel tabs knit. The sole portions, although not topped,.cannot ravel and may later be pushed onto the points of the looping machine without. regard to what loops are actually placed on the points.

In this way, the topping operation is greatly simplified and speeded up, and rendered more certain, and the strain upon the eye-sight of the operator greatly reduced. Although, technically speaking, the topping of the sole portions may be less perfectly done, by this method the imperfections are not observable except by the closest run-proofed courses may be topped and looped or otherwise joined to the heel tabs in the manner described. 7

I claim:

1. A heelless stocking blank having leg, high heel and foot portions knit as a unit, said foot portions including sole portions connected to the corresponding ends of the high heel portions. by one or more severing courses followed by courses of run-stop construction, said last-mentioned run-stop courses constituting in the finished stocking a loose selvag'e anterior to said sole portions.

2. The method of knitting a heelless stocking blank which consists of knitting the leg, high -heels and foot portions as a unit, said foot portions including two sole portions one below each high heel and spaced therefrom but connected thereto by one or more severing courses followed by courses of non-run construction. ERWIN RUCKEL.

This has been designated herein as the- 

